It's All Alright
by FoolsRushIn
Summary: Jeff introduces his brother to the group, but doesn't know how to react when he becomes a little too friendly with a certain brunette.
1. Chapter One

_Because I_'_m the worst I started a new story even though I have two other ones in progress. But spring break is next week and I anticipate finishing at least one of them then! Anyways, sorry if you're reading and waiting for updates on those...I'm working on it, I promise! But I got this idea while watching Thursday's episode. This chapter is really short and the rest will definitely be longer! So, yeah let me know what you think!_

* * *

Jeff makes an effort with his brother. It sounds out of character, but he feels bad. Their dad is a dick and clearly wants nothing to do with helping Willy, so Jeff makes an effort. And so does Britta, which as much as Jeff would really love to discount, he thinks it's actually helping. And Britta helped him, so he shouldn't be too harsh.

In fact, Britta makes progress. So much progress that Jeff can invite Willy to the groups' holiday party. So much progress that Willy no longer vomits when he's upset and he manages to get through conversations with Jeff without pointing out all the ways Jeff is perfect (he didn't mind that so much, but Britta insisted it had to stop). He's still emotional, obviously, Jeff's pretty sure nothing can change that. But his emotions aren't as…on the surface as they were at Thanksgiving.

So, anyway, Jeff brings him to the party because the group's been bugging to meet him since Thanksgiving and he's really sick of their begging. He figures the worst that could happen is being embarrassed by one half of the equation, but he's not even that worried about it.

He's excited (yes, Jeff Winger is excited) to bring together part of his real family and his chosen one. God, that sounds gross even in his head, but it's true.

So, he brings Willy to the holiday party. The kid needs to get out more anyway and Jeff can't punish him just because their shared father is a complete asshole.

"Hey Willy," Jeff says managing a small smile as Willy excitedly bounces into his Lexus.

"Hi!" His brother practically squeals, reminding him of a particularly enthusiastic brunette he knows. "I'm so excited to meet your friends! I've never really had friends." He informs Jeff with a slight sniffle and god, why couldn't have Britta come with him to pick Willy up? She knows Jeff's not good with emotions.

"Well, I'm sure they'll love you. You are half-related to me, after all." He smirks pulling out onto the road.

"And Britta will be there too?" Jeff eyes him warily, does he have a crush on Britta?

"Uh, yeah. And so will Troy, her boyfriend."

"Troy! Troy's so cool, man."

"You've met Troy?" Of course Britta was bringing Troy to her therapy sessions.

"Yeah, I've had lunch with them before. Britta said Troy and I were kind of alike, so she introduced us. Isn't it great?"

"Yeah," Jeff drawls sarcastically. Is his brother going to become the next member of the study group? He shakes his head. No. He doesn't even go to Greendale, he can't be part of the study group. He pulls into the parking lot of the Trobed-Annie apartment because it just made sense to have the group gatherings there. "Okay, ready?" Jeff questions glancing over at Willy, who nods excitedly. He still hasn't really explained to the group what happened at his father's, other than the guy's an asshole and he has a half-brother.

Jeff grabs the signature generic fruitcake he's bought the last four years and makes his way to the apartment with Willy trailing closely behind. Jeff knocks and expects Troy and Abed to answer with their typical greeting, some variation of the Troy and Abed in the morning song. Instead, it's Annie in a red dress (that he can't help but connect with that Santa outfit she wore for him last Christmas and NO! he can't think of that now), so Annie answers the door and she's clearly in a bit of a frenzy. Although when is Annie not? Her hair is slightly askew, she's straightening her dress, and she's clearly out of breath.

"Hi, guys! Happy holidays!" She says as casually as she can. She gives Jeff a small smile and then turns her attention toward Willy. "Hi, I'm Annie! You must be Willy, Jeff's brother!"

"I am!" Willy beams almost as much as Annie and Jeff really wants to roll his eyes, but he promised himself he'd be on his best behavior today. Willy and Annie shake hands and she ushers them into the apartment, where it looks like the holidays have thrown up. Jeff finally understands why Annie is so flustered because she's probably been working on this non-stop all day. Willy quickly runs off to where Troy and Britta are standing, greeting them excitedly.

"He seems nice." Annie comments glancing up at him and he nods.

"So, do you need help with anything?" He asks.

"Is Jeff Winger offering to help?" He smirks and shrugs.

"Well, you are kind of a mess." His smile widens at her indignant gasp. "You are, but it's okay because I'm here." She rolls her eyes.

"Oh yeah, I've been waiting for this moment all day." Jeff laughs.

"I know you have." He winks. "So, seriously what do you need help with?" She looks around the apartment and Jeff knows she's going through a mental checklist in her head.

"I think I'm good, actually. I just need to bring the rest of the food out."

"Okay, you might want to do something about your hair though." He informs her trying to control his smile, as panic sets in on her face.

"What's wrong with my hair?!" She asks looking up at him with those goddamn huge blue eyes.

"Nothing, it's just-" He shakes his head and reaches over to smooth down her hair trying not to think too much about it. "There, perfect." He says softly reluctantly pulling his hand away.

"Thanks," she replies in the same voice. The sound of the oven timer shakes them out of their stupor and Annie steps away to grab the food. He sighs, he really thought he and Annie were done with this stupid dance they did. Guess not. He moves over to the rest of the group and resolves to not share anymore moments with Annie today. It shouldn't be too hard. After all, this is a party full of his friends. He can spend some time with Abed or Shirley or Pierce even. He just really needs to stay away from Annie.

* * *

He keeps his promise. The party has been going for 3 hours and he hasn't been alone with Annie again. It's actually a lot easier than he thought. And Willy seems to be blending well with the group. Jeff has barely even noticed his presence. Actually…when was the last time Jeff actually saw Willy? He panics at the thought that his brother completely disappeared. Maybe Pierce convinced him to do something stupid and he did it. And oh shit, if he lost him he'll never forgive himself.

His eyes quickly scan the room and he thinks he actually feels his blood go cold when he finally spots Willy.

He's standing in the kitchen talking with Annie. But they're not just talking. Annie has her heart eyes on and Willy is smiling widely at her and how did he even know how to flirt? Then he sees Britta watching the interaction proudly and of course Britta had something to do with it. Sometimes she really is the worst.

"I think he'd be good for her." Abed says and Jeff jumps.

"Jesus, Abed. Where did you come from?" Abed ignores his question, still looking at Willy and Annie, who are laughing heartily.

"Annie is her 'loosey-goosey' self." He observes. "She's not worried about expressing her emotions because he's already more emotional than Annie could ever be." Abed says in his normal monotone.

"Why are you telling me this?" Jeff questions trying not to sound too harsh.

"You seemed interested in their interaction." Abed shrugs.

"Well, I'm not." Jeff almost growls and Abed nods.

"Annie hasn't dated anyone in awhile. We're due for a new love interest, plus we need a cliffhanger for the mid-season finale."

"For the last time, we are not in a television show." Jeff grumbles before stalking away toward the kitchen prepared to end the conversation between Willy and Annie.

"So, do you-uh-you think we could maybe get, um, get dinner some time?" Willy asks shyly just as Jeff rounds the corner.

"Sure," Annie replies practically beaming at him and Jeff stops where he is. He calls back what Abed says and tries to believe it. Jeff likes Willy, so he should be fine with this. All his problems with Rich and Vaughn were because he hated them and they were complete tools. But he knows Willy is harmless and he's a good guy. Jeff should be fine with it. So, why does he feel like he's just been punched in the stomach?


	2. Chapter Two

_Well, this took longer than I wanted it to...sorry! It was really hard to write Willy because I didn't want to write him too OOC, but at the same time we've only seen him for 10 or so minutes so it's really hard to write him in character. But I tried! Anyway, your feedback for the first was kind of amazing (and by kind of, I mean really), so thank you all so so so so much. I appreciate every single review and favorite and follow and anyone taking the time to actually read this story_.

* * *

Annie's not sure what she's doing. Okay, that's not entirely true. She's getting ready to go on her date with Willy. Willy's sweet and cute…and totally not her type. Not even a little bit. But she's been on three dates since coming to Greendale and she's had to pay on all of them, so maybe her type kind of sucked.

So, yeah, Willy wasn't her type but maybe she could grow to like him in a more romantic way? She could at least try. She smiles to herself as she shimmies into her little black dress. Since Britta was around more, Annie asked for her help getting ready and Britta insisted that every girl needed a little black dress. And Annie has to admit, Britta's right. She looks good.

She left her hair in loose waves surrounding her face and applied some light make-up. She smiles pleased at her reflection and checks the time. She has 5 minutes and she still can't decide what shoes to wear. She grabs flats and a pair of strappy black heels before exiting her room. She swings the door open and calls for Britta.

"Britta! Should I wear the heels or the-" She breaks off as she realizes Britta's not even in the room. In fact no one's in the room other than Jeff. Wait. "Jeff?" She questions her eyebrows creasing in confusion. His eyes widen at the sight of her, but he clears his throat and quickly looks back at her face.

"Hey, uh, Abed invited me over for movie night. He went down to get the pizza and Troy and Britta…" He shrugs helplessly and gestures to the door of Troy's bedroom. Annie wrinkles her nose and Jeff nods an equally unpleasant look on his face. They're silent for a few minutes: Jeff awkwardly shuffling his feat and Annie looking anywhere but at Jeff.

"Heels." Jeff finally murmurs and her head snaps up. "You should wear the heels." He repeats pointing to her right hand.

"Thanks." She smiles tossing the other pair into her room and slips on the heels. "How do I look?" Jeff's eyes travel over her and eventually settle on her face.

"You look great." He says sincerely with a soft smile. She flushes and mentally scolds herself. She is over Jeff. She is. She has a date tonight _with his brother. _Ugh, what is wrong with her? She closes her eyes tightly willing herself to stop thinking of Jeff.

"Annie, Willy's here!" Abed announces coming into the apartment with a box of pizza and Willy trailing behind him.

"Hey brother!" Willy greets smiling at Jeff before turning towards her. "Hi, Annie." He says shyly coming over to stand near her. "You look really pretty." Annie blushes because no matter how interested she is in him, he's still a cute guy complimenting her. "Oh, and these are for you!" He suddenly pulls out his other hand from behind his back handing Annie a bouquet of flowers.

"Thank you." She smiles widely accepting the flowers from him.

"It was Abed's idea. He's been helping me out." Annie's eyes drift over to her roommate, who nods.

"We've never really had anyone in the group who dated conventionally. I've always wanted to create the perfect first date that's typically seen in romantic comedies. So when Willy asked you out it gave me the opportunity to put my information to use." He explains in his usual monotone.

"So, what does a perfect first date entail exactly?" Jeff asks and Annie's head turns toward her. She had honestly forgotten he was there, well, until now.

"It's a surprise."

"But Annie will definitely love it." Abed assures holding out his hand for him and Annie to do their high five. "Now give me your flowers and have fun on your date. But not too much fun. And make sure to have her home by 11." Abed says in his most convincing overprotective dad voice. He smiles to himself. "Nailed it."

"Yeah, have fun." Jeff adds unenthusiastically and Annie looks over at him. His expression is as aloof as it usually is and he refuses to meet her eyes. _Stop thinking about Jeff,_ she instructs herself and breathes deeply. She puts a smile on her face and grabs Willy's hand pulling him out the door.

She's going to have fun tonight.

* * *

"You can leave if you're tired." Abed tells him after he's yawned for the fifth time in ten minutes.

"I'm not tired." Jeff mutters moodily crossing his arms and sitting up in the chair.

"Then why do you keep yawning?"

"Look, I said I'd watch the movies with you and I will."

"But you're not fully grasping the movie if you're tired." Abed explains and Jeff clenches his teeth in annoyance.

"I'm not going anywhere." He mutters and glances toward the door. "Just play the movie." Abed's silent for a minute and Jeff can feel Abed watching him.

"Are you waiting for Annie to get home?" Jeff freezes.

"What? No. That'd be totally ridiculous."

"Really? Because you keep glancing at the door like you're waiting for someone to come through it. But we already know Troy and Britta are gone for the night, which means you must be waiting for Annie."

"I thought I heard something." He says unconvincingly and Abed seems to consider it for a second.

"Well, according to the itinerary I planned out Annie shouldn't be home for at least another hour or two." Jeff groans and leans forward pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. He wishes Abed would just let it go. "I'm getting the sense that you don't want to talk about it."

"Gee, where would you get that idea?" Jeff snaps.

"From your general hostile demeanor every time Willy and Annie are brought up in conjunction."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I know, I was just offering as a friend." Abed shrugs and turns back to the television hitting play. Jeff sinks into the chair in relief. At least the interrogation is over. The last thing he needs is Abed trying to decode his thoughts and figure out what's going on with him. Although, Jeff isn't even sure what's going on, so he doubts Abed could figure it out.

"On Friends when Ross went out with Rachel's sister," Abed starts and Jeff's hand closes tightly. "Rachel became jealous and did everything she could to stop them, but it didn't work. Eventually Ross ended things because he realized if anything happened with Rachel's sister than nothing could happen between them again."Jeff's pretty sure his knuckle is closed so tight he's actually punctured the skin.

"Why are you telling me this?" Jeff asked with a heavy sigh. He really wasn't in the mood to decode one of Abed's television riddles.

"You're Rachel." Jeff sat up ramrod straight.

"What?" He asked with a manic laugh. "I-uh, I-I-I-I am not." He threw in another laugh.

"You're Goldblum-ing." Jeff takes a deep breath trying to control himself and looks toward Abed.

"I'm not jealous of _Willy._" He says like the thought itself is completely ridiculous. And it is because he has absolutely no reason whatsoever to be jealous. The kid was screwed up even more than Jeff was. _But he's on a date with Annie_, his subconscious reminds him.

"It's in character for you." Abed explains and Jeff's jaw drops.

"What?"

"You were jealous of Vaughn and Rich too."

"I was not! They were douchebags." Abed sighs and turns toward the television.

"I've helped with your character development as much as I can. The rest is up to you."

"Bu-" He starts to interject but Abed shushes him.

"Movie." Jeff repositions himself to face the screen again and he definitely does not think about what Abed said all night.

* * *

Annie is enjoying herself, legitimately enjoying herself on an actual romantic outing. She shouldn't be surprised since her past dating experiences included Vaughn, whose equivalent of a date was watching clouds, or the other men she'd been out with who wouldn't even pay for her dinner when THEY asked HER out. But not only has Willy paid for all their activities, she's been having decent conversations with him. And not the stupid philosophical ones with Vaughn, which didn't even make sense half the time, but get-to-know-you conversations. This is the first time she's talked to anyone about her love of forensics in depth. Sure, the whole group knew she was taking it but no one had really asked her about it.

Willy is actually listening to her, which is different. Abed listens, but he's always waiting to dissect her emotions. Troy has too short of an attention span to actually have serious conversations most times. Britta always interrupts her halfway through with a rant on feminism or capitalism or whatever it is she's upset about that day. Shirley likes to talk more than listen. Pierce is sort of a non-option because she's not going to attempt to have a conversation with Pierce about anything important. He'd make a joke about her boobs and it'd be over. And Jeff…Jeff was Jeff.

"So, you really think Jeff will come around on the whole brother thing?" Speaking of Jeff…

"I do," Annie nods smiling at him reassuringly. "Trust me, the fact that he's been in your life for this long really says something."

"Thanks for talking this through with me."

"Anytime. Jeff's not exactly the most straightforward with his feelings," Annie says with a laugh and it comes out a little more fake than she means it to. But Willy doesn't seem to notice.

"Yeah, I'm kind of used to it." He shrugs, but Annie sees the slight quiver to his lip.

"Your dad?" She questions even though she doesn't need to. She's heard enough from Britta. Willy nods and sniffles.

"Let's talk about that another time?" Annie smiles and pats his knee reassuringly. "Anyway, it's 10:50 and I promised I'd have you home by 11:00."

"That's really unnecessary." He shrugs.

"I don't want to waste all of our good conversation on the first date." She knows it's supposed to be a joke, but she can see the insecurity there.

"Well, I think we'll have plenty of conversation for a second date."

"Yeah?" Willy asks, his eyes lighting up with hope.

"Yeah." She leans over and places a light kiss on his cheek.

* * *

Jeff jumps up when he hears a key in the door. Abed's eyebrows rise at Jeff's reaction and he quickly sits back down trying to act casual. As soon as Annie's through the door, Abed nods to himself.

"Annie, I hope you had a good date. I'm going to bed now. Goodnight." And then he's gone. Although, his bedroom is a blanket fort in the living room, so he's not really gone and Jeff's positive that he's going to listen to whatever is said between them. Annie blinks in confusion toward the blanket fort and then shrugs her jacket off, hanging it up. Then she's in front of him again in just that dress and _holy shit he forgot how good she looked. _

"So, good date?" He asks awkwardly. Dammit, why couldn't Abed have stayed? Annie smiles, a private little smile to herself and nods.

"Yeah, it was." She says softly and Jeff's insides clench. Well, that was new.

"I'm, uh, I'm glad." He almost winces at the insincerity in his voice, but Annie doesn't notice it.

"I'm really proud of you for making an effort with him, Jeff." He looks around the room awkwardly unsure of what to say or do, but then he looks over at Annie and she's smiling her Annie smile at him and he can't help but smile back.

"He's a good kid." She makes an 'mmm' noise in agreement. "So, is this going to be a serious thing between you two?"

"We'll see." That answer doesn't make him feel better. In fact, it makes him feel worse because while there was no resounding 'yes'. This was nowhere near a 'no', which was what he was looking for.

"Cool." Is all he can say and God, that sounds so lame. _Snap out of it, Winger._ "Well, Abed went to bed so I guess movie night is over." Jeff mutters glancing at the movie on the screen that's nowhere near over.

"Aw, but the best part is coming up." She cries and Jeff glances over at her, yep, she's invoking the doe eyes. Jeff rolls his eyes, but can't hide the smile that's forming as he settles back down in his chair.


	3. Chapter Three

_Ugh sorry this took so long. I know it's a terrible excuse but school is eating my life. Also, this was a long wait for not that much payoff. I originally intended for more to happen in this chapter but it ended up not... I've been sitting on about half of it for awhile and I finally had enough free time to finish it up and give it somewhat of an ending. I hope the next chapter doesn't take this long. If you're reading my HIMYM stories I'm working on those too! I promise! Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed and favorited and whatever. Once again, school eats my life so I'm sorry if I don't respond to all of you individually! But I do read them all and greatly appreciate them! Okay, enough of me. _

* * *

This study session is not going the way Jeff wants. They have a test tomorrow. Normally, he would barely be concerned. But this history class is a little bit of a challenge and the professor hates him and this is the last class he needs to pass. He can't slack off. Plus, they're discussing one of Jeff's least favorite topics: Annie and Willy. He still can't put his finger on what exactly bothers him about the whole thing. It's just that it's his brother…and Annie. It's weird. He tunes back into the conversation in enough time to hear Pierce be, well, Pierce.

"Did you make a man out of him yet?"

"Pierce!" Annie squeals, her cheeks turning bright red.

"Normally I wouldn't condone this, but Willy is my patient and I'm invested in this relationship." Britta says folding her hands on the table and Jeff rolls his eyes.

"Using the word patient implies that you're a real therapist."

"Don't deflect just because you don't want to talk about Annie's love life." Britta snarks back.

"What a coincidean that I would run into you folks here." The dean says entering the study room.

"Actually it's not a coincidence at all. Coincidence implies it was an accident, but we're here at the same time everyday." Abed points out.

"Excuse me for trying to enter the room creatively."

"Don't you always enter the room with a play on the word 'dean'?" Troy questions looking at the rest of the study group for reassurance. The dean opens his mouth to reply, but Jeff cuts him off.

"Why are you here, Dean?"

"Well, I wanted to be the first person to invite you to Greendale's next dance…." Dean Pelton hits his hands against the table to create a drumroll. "The Prezzy for Lezzy's!" He announces with pride.

"I'll field this." Jeff assures the group before turning to face the Dean. "The what?"

"The Prezzy for Lezzy's. You know it's president's day next week and I thought we should celebrate in style."

"A president's day dance? You realize how ridiculous that sounds, right? Someone back me up here!" Jeff says looking around the table, but they ignore him.

"Why 'for Lezzy's'?" Annie asks peering at the Dean curiously.

"Lesbians are a severely underappreciated minority of Greendale-"

"Brittles knows all about that!" Pierce calls out with a chuckle, only to be met with a disapproving stare from Britta and a confused one from Troy.

"You did have that really awkward kiss with Paige at the Valentine's dance two years ago…"

"I'm not a lesbian." Britta mutters crossing her arms. "And I will be attending the dance with my _boy_friend, Troy." She smiles over at him.

"When blondie stops using you as her beard, I'll set you up." Pierce turns to Troy with a wink.

"It has been awhile since Andre and I had a date night…" Shirley mulls it over, completely ignoring Pierce.

"Rachel and I were looking for a place to recreate some classic rom-com tropes." Abed says in an agreeing tone.

"Well, Willy's going to be away this weekend, but I guess I can go anyway." Annie shrugs.

"Jeffery?" Shirley prompts glancing his way.

"No can do, I'm busy." He replies picking up his phone, which Britta promptly swats out of his hand. He glares at Britta and sighs heavily.

"Jeff, you have to come." Annie says and his head automatically turns toward her. "It's our last one." Her eyes got widen slightly and he knows she's minutes away from invoking the eyes, which have somehow gotten sexy. Ugh, Annie and her stupid powers over him. He can't let the rest of the group see his complete weakness, so he stops it before it starts.

"I'll go." He sighs and slyly glances over at Annie to see her face break out into a smile.

* * *

Annie straightens her dress out as she walks into Greendale's cafeteria. She looks pretty hot, or at least that's what Britta said before they left. But it doesn't really matter because she has no one to impress. She's been at Greendale four years and found nothing but duds. With the exception of…no, she's not going there. Besides, she has Willy now. It's nothing serious and they've only been on a handful dates, but he's a really nice guy, which is exactly what she needs. Plus, he actually likes her and that's more than she can say for any guy she's been really interested in. She sighs and mentally scolds herself. Tonight is fun. It's one of her last Greendale dances and she's going to appreciate it.

"Milady." She hears a deep voice from behind her and she can feel the smile work its way onto her face of its own accord. She turns around and comes face to face (actually because of the height difference it's more like face to chest) with Jeff. "So, looks like it's mostly me and you tonight." Annie follows his eyes to see the rest of the group paired up into couples on the dance floor.

"Well, I'm glad you're here." She responds. Jeff smiles at her and the corners of his eyes crinkle. It's Annie's favorite kind of Jeff smile and she finds herself responding, her smile widening to match his own.

"So, now what are we supposed to do?" She shrugs.

"I don't know. I felt like I had to come because it was one of our last Greendale dances but now that I'm here…"

"Seems kind of lame?" He offers with a slight raise of his eyebrow.

"Yeah," Annie rolls her eyes at his pleased smile.

"I told you it would be."

"You were right." She mutters in a monotone voice trying her best to look stern.

"So, you wanna blow this joint?"

"Jeff!" She admonishes hitting him on the arm. "We can't just leave. We promised we'd be here."

"And it looks like our presence would be greatly missed." Annie sighs and glances back at their friends who don't seem to be paying attention to anything other than their significant others. "C'mon Annie, please. If we stay any longer the Dean might find me and ask for a dance."

"Fine." She finally agrees noting the expression of glee on Jeff's face. "But you have to explain this one to the rest of the group."

"They won't even notice we're gone. Now, shall we?" He smiles offering his arm. She places her arm in his and nods as Jeff escorts them out of the building.

* * *

Sometimes Jeff forgets how much he enjoys Annie's company. The last couple of months he's spent so much time trying to get rid of any untoward feelings for Annie that he had inadvertently been avoiding her. But now they're hanging out and it's so easy. He has fun with her and most importantly he's himself around her. He doesn't worry about Jeff Winger, he's just Jeff. He's learned to do that with the entire group over the years, but he feels his guard come down most around Annie.

He glances at her and notices that she's studying the menu again.

"You know, I don't think this place changes its menu that often." He comments with a wry smile and she huffs.

"I want to try something new. I'm being adventurous." She informs him and then turns her attention back to the menu.

"Uh, if you're going to be adventurous I really don't think the Denny's menu is the place to do that."

"You have to start small, Jeff."

"Mhhhm." He hums sarcastically.

When the waitress comes back and she orders french toast, he can't contain his laughter.

"Stop laughing at me!" She demands and he can hear the formidable in her voice, but he can't stop. "Jeff!" She whines.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He apologizes placing a hand over his heart. "But, Annie, if you want to be adventurous I don't think ordering French toast is the way to do that."

"Says the man who always orders the same thing everywhere." She grumbles.

"True, but I'm not trying to be more adventurous."

"Fine, what do you suggest?"

"Well, like I said the Denny's menu isn't the place to do it." She groans and he can't help but laugh at her frustration with him. "I think changing your entire life plan was probably enough adventure for a couple of years, especially for you."

"I can have fun too, you know!" She immediately protests and he blinks taken aback.

"I know that."

"Sorry," she apologizes sheepishly.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Annie sighs swirling her straw around in her cup. "I've been so stressed lately between school and work." He nods, he'd known this semester had been hard on her so far since she changed her major and was taking, of course, an overload of classes, plus working part time. "And I yelled at Troy and Abed the other day. I feel like I've been a buzzkill lately. I don't know." She shrugs dejectedly and Jeff takes a deep breath thinking about what to say next.

"Hey, you know Britta's our resident buzzkill." He murmurs trying to lighten the mood with a joke first. "Annie, we all know you're stressed. You're entitled to freak out once in awhile. You wouldn't be Annie, if you didn't. And someone needs to whip Troy and Abed into shape occasionally."

"I guess you're right." She shrugs in acknowledgment.

"Of course I am." He smirks trying to get Annie to lighten up and it works. She glares at him, but the smile on her face gives her away. They're both silent after that, but it's not uncomfortable. It's the type of silence you can only have with good friends. It's comfortable and amiable. Of course, he's never known Annie to be silent for long so she eventually breaks it.

"Are you worried about what's going to happen after graduation?"

"Hey Debbie Downer, have you seen my friend Annie anywhere? She's short and tiny, wears a lot of cardigans, tends to be a little ball of sunshine. If you find her could you let me know?" He replies sarcastically and she rolls her eyes.

"Jeff, I'm trying to be serious."

"The dean offered me a job." It had been on the tip of his tongue all night, apparently he just needed a little prodding.

"What?" Annie asks eyes wide and he nods.

"They're looking for someone to teach a few of the political science classes and surprise, you don't need to be very accredited to work at Greendale."

"You're actually considering it?" He shrugs.

"Well, not too many law firms want to touch you when you were disbarred for faking a bachelor's degree. I figure I can work at Greendale and maybe find a part time position at some law firm, build up their trust and hopefully they'll hire me as an actual lawyer in a year or so because I do not want to work at Greendale forever."

"Wow," she mutters taking it all in. "How long have you been planning this?"

"The dean told me about it last week. Apparently he knew I was having trouble finding a job, so he stepped in."

"Ah, yes. Your knight in shining armor," she jokes and he can't help but crack a smile.

"Shut up."

"I'm proud of you for finally figuring everything out."

"Well, I have you to thank for that, Edison. I doubt I would have even passed Spanish freshman year without your help and forget some of my other classes. You kind of saved my ass. A lot." He remarks earnestly and the small smile Annie gives him return makes his entire stomach flip. _Stop it. _He clears his throat and quickly changes the subject. "So, what about you? What are you doing after Greendale?" She shrugs and toys with her straw.

"Well since I changed my major, I have to stick around an extra year to get my degree."

"Wow, a whole extra year to finish an entire degree. That's crazy." He mocks.

"Well, I may be taking some summer classes and classes over winter break and overloading my schedule during the regular semesters." She concedes.

"You're going to be the greatest forensic investigator Greendale has ever seen."

"Thanks, Jeff. And hey, maybe if the other law firms are too stupid to notice a good lawyer when they see one, we can open our own practice." Annie quips and he grins. "I solve the murders, you send them to jail."

"I'm not really that type of lawyer, but anything for you, Annie." He means for it to come out jokingly, but there's a hint of seriousness in his tone and they both know it's true. He would do almost anything for Annie. And that's what always scared him away: the intensity of his feelings. But it's getting to the point where he can't ignore it much longer. Jeff Winger may finally need to do something about Annie Edison. He just doesn't know what.


	4. Chapter Four

_Once again, I'm sorry this took so long. School is the worst. But good news, I'm done this week, so updates should come faster! Anyway, thank you guys so much for all the reviews and favorite and follows. I appreciate them!_

* * *

Jeff hasn't stopped smiling all night. It's not even a suave smirk; it's a wide, dopey grin. He tries everything he can to get rid of it, but then Annie says something and he's smiling all over again. It's ridiculous and it's lame and he _has _to stop. But he can't. And maybe it's time for him to think about why that is. Why he has this uncontrollable urge to smile around Annie _all the time. _

Maybe he finally needs to admit it. He's been ignoring the 'Annie of it all' (he still cringes when he thinks of that day) for almost 3 years and it's time that he accepts it. He has feelings for Annie. He's always known they were there, but he fought them. She was young and innocent, he was old and jaded. But now she's 22 and that's a lot different from 18. Plus, Jeff's finally starting to realize that Annie was never innocent or naïve, she just chooses to see the best in even the worst people, people like him.

He glances over at Annie, who's organizing his DVD's alphabetically (seriously), and he's struck by this overwhelming feeling of contentment.

What does it even mean? He wonders. _It means you love her, you idiot. _Does he, though? The voice in his head screams back a resounding yes. And of course he loves her, he loves every member of the study group (although, sometimes Pierce is a little suspect). But then he thinks back to the night of Shirley's wedding, when Annie told him there was something real in his heart and all he had seen was her. Not Britta or Troy or Abed. Just Annie.

"Huh?" Jeff asks when he notices Annie look at him expectantly. She rolls her eyes playfully.

"Your movies are sorted." She informs him smiling widely as she runs her fingers over her handiwork. "What now?" She questions, her eyes roaming his apartment.

"Nuh uh. No more sorting. I'll never be able to find anything." She huffs and crosses her arms.

"Jeff, I'm trying to make it easier for you to find things." He shakes his head.

"You're trying to make it easier for _you _to find things. I have a system." She raises an eyebrow skeptically.

"You have a system?"

"Yep. And it's worked perfectly well."

"Fine," she sighs frowning.

"Aw, don't do that."

"What?" She asks wide-eyed.

"The sad face with the eyes. Annie, you know I hate that." Her lips curve upward.

"You only hate it because you can't say no to it." Annie's eyes sparkle and even though he's trying to be stern he finds himself smiling again. His cheeks are going to hurt when tonight is over.

"I can neither confirm nor deny the charges." He mutters but there's a joking glint to his eye and Annie bounds over falling next to him on the couch. They fall into a comfortable silence with Annie's head resting in the crook of his elbow on the arm he threw over the back of the couch. She rolls her head in his direction and he turns to look at her. Her eyes squint as they roam over his face and he shifts nervously. "Like what you see?" He quips and she rolls her eyes.

"We're graduating soon." She murmurs in a sad tone and his heart clenches.

"Yeah, I never thought graduating from Greendale would be bittersweet."

"I never thought I'd graduate from Greendale." Jeff glances at her; she's staring off toward the wall, her lower lip between her teeth and he feels this overpowering sense of relief that she is graduating from Greendale.

"I'm glad you stayed."

"Yeah?" She asks, her eyes curious. He licks his lips and nods ignoring the emotion he feels weighing on his chest.

"Yeah, who else would I get to take my notes for me?" She reaches over to smack him in the chest before settling back against his side. "I guess I enjoy your company too. Mostly because you're nice to look at." He adds with a smirk. She glares at him and pulls on her cardigan to cover the flush slowly rising up her chest.

"Do you think we'll stay friends?"

"Me and you or the whole group?" Annie shrugs.

"Me and you, everyone, all of us." Jeff considers it and tenses at the thought of the study group not being in his life. As much as he didn't want them at first, he can't imagine life without them.

"We have to."

"Aw Jeff, would you miss us?"

"Yeah." He admits sincerely and Annie's eyes gleams. She pulls herself up to her knees leaning over to pull him into a tight hug. He wraps his arms around her waist pulling her closer. "Don't get teary on me, Edison." He mutters into her ear and she laughs against his shoulder before pulling away and sitting back down. He tries to ignore the loss he feels when she's out of his arms.

"Sorry. It's just weird to think it's all going to be over soon." Jeff laughs and shakes his head.

"So overdramatic." He mocks tongue firmly in cheek.

"Jeff!" She cries, her voice _thisclose _to a whine and he smiles.

"Annie!"

"I'm trying to be serious." He raises an eyebrow and she sighs crossing her arms.

"Okay, Miss Edison, what's on your mind?" She's quiet for a beat.

"What are you going to do once we graduate? Just go back to your same job and be the same person you were before you started?"

"I've been looking at jobs in the prosecutor's office." He reveals. For some reason whenever he's around Annie he lacks a filter. It's as if he's so comfortable around her he can't be bothered to think before he speaks. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but he has been trying to keep this under wraps.

"What?" She asks in surprise.

"Well, I kind of shot myself in the foot at my old office and I don't think I'd want to go back to it anyway. I don't want to be who I was before Greendale." He says in a surprise moment of sincerity. Annie looks at him with wide eyes and a small smile on her face and he has to remind himself of all the reasons it would be bad to kiss her right now. _God _he really wants to kiss her though. He clears his throat and looks away before he has time to actually act on his terrible idea. And that's what it is, a terrible terrible idea.

* * *

Jeff bites back a groan when he hears a knock at the door. He knows it's Willy and he knows he has to open it, but he really doesn't want to. Ever since his brother started dating Annie, Jeff's been more or less avoiding him. Yes, okay, he's admitting it. Jeff is jealous. As far as he knows, Willy and Annie have done little more than several dates and harmless pecks, but it still bothers him. He knows he has no right to be jealous. He's never done anything about his feelings for Annie. Hell, it took him until the other night to even admit to himself that he has feelings for Annie. But that doesn't make it any easier to stomach her brother dating the woman he wants.

He scrubs a hand over his face and takes a deep breath. It's not Willy's fault, he reminds himself. Jeff can't be mad at anyone but himself. He swings open the door greeting his brother with a smile.

"Hey man, come on in."

"I'm excited! We haven't had brother time in awhile." Willy bubbles with excitement and Jeff contains a slight eye roll. He wonders if Willy and Annie's relationship is the two of them bouncing in excitement about everything.

"Yeah, how've you been?" He asks grabbing the dinner he'd ordered earlier that night and setting it down on the table.

"I've been great! I just recently put a down payment on an apartment. I'm moving in this weekend."

"That's great." Jeff replies with genuine excitement. He's glad that Willy's getting out from under his father's thumb.

"Yeah, what about you?"

"Good, been applying to a lot of jobs." Jeff tips back his beer taking a sip. "Graduation is coming up."

"I know. Annie's been talking about it a lot. She's kind of freaking out." Willy says nonchalantly shoving a slice of pizza in his mouth. Jeff grips the table. Hard. He doesn't want to be upset that Annie is confiding in Willy, but it's impossible not to be. But he nods and pretends like he doesn't care.

"How's it going with you two?"

"It's good. She's really great. She's been helping me a lot with finding an apartment and organizing." Jeff chuckles knowingly. If there's anything Annie was made for, it was organizing.

"She was over here the other day and alphabetized my whole DVD collection. I stopped her before she could get anywhere else." Willy smiles widely at Jeff, which slowly fades.

"You and Annie are really good friends, right?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess. Why?" He asks eyeing Willy suspiciously.

"Britta mentioned something about you and Annie once but then she realized who she was talking to and she wouldn't tell me anything more." Jeff could feel his heart in his throat and he swallowed audibly. Dammit Britta.

"What did she say?"

"Something about looks and glances, I think?" Willy replies, his face concentrated and Jeff hears Annie's voice in his head. _The long looks, stolen glances, the general atmosphere of would they, might they? _And then he had completely denied everything. He was such an ass. Obviously he's thought of that day since it happened, but at this moment he wants nothing more than to run out of his apartment and just apologize to her for every shitty thing he's ever done. Which, admittedly, is a lot of things.

"Oh," he breathes out trying to come up with a response.

"I kind of got the impression that you and Annie are a thing?" Willy questions and all Jeff can do is breathe out another 'oh'. He doesn't know when he lost the ability to speak. "Is it weird for me to be dating her?" _YES._ "Because I, uh, I'd get if you were uncomfortable with this. I mean, Annie and I aren't serious or anything so if you want me to end it. I can. It won't be a big deal, I guess." Willy rambles nervously and Jeff's brain is running a mile a minute. All he has to do is say 'yes' and everything between Annie and Willy will be over.

"It is weird." Jeff finds himself saying before his brain can do anything about it.

"I get it." Willy smiles understandingly. "I'll tell Annie next time we hang out. I'm sure she'll be fine. I don't even think she likes me that much." He sighs shaking his head. Annie doesn't even like him that much. It'll be fine.

"Uh, you won't tell Annie that you talked to me. Will you?" Jeff asks panicked. Annie would probably never speak to him again along with another speech of never getting involved in her love life ever again. He knows what he's doing is wrong. He knows he should tell Willy to stay with Annie, but he can't bring himself to do it. He's always been a selfish person, especially when he wants something. But Willy said it himself, Annie doesn't like him that much. It's not like she'll be upset. And she definitely will never realize Jeff is the cause of it. It'll be fine, as long as Willy agrees not to tell her.

"I promise I won't say anything. It's not you, it's me, right?" Willy says with a laugh and Jeff forces out a fake laugh in return.

"Yeah."


	5. Chapter Five

_Once again, sorry this took so long! I wish I had a better chapter to greet you with...I don't know. I rewrote this a couple times. I'm still not really happy with it, but I guess it gets the job done, right? Anyway, random sidenote: today I was struck with the inspiration to write a Community/How I Met Your Mother crossover and it's half done. So, I'll probably post that at some point tomorrow, if you're interested! Thanks for all your feedback on this story though! You guys are the best ever._

* * *

Jeff's phone vibrates loudly against his coffee table for the fifth time in the last hour. He hasn't looked at it, doesn't know who it is, doesn't care. Okay, so he does care, but he's going to pretend he doesn't. Just like he's pretending his guilt isn't currently gnawing its way through his stomach.

Jeff isn't a particularly guilty person. It probably stems from the fact that he rarely worries about the consequences of his actions and who they affect. But for some reason whenever Jeff feels guilt, Annie is involved. Yeah, he could blame it on those huge doe eyes that well up with tears when she doesn't get her way, but she isn't even here to do that right now. Annie is completely unaware that Jeff has anything to feel guilty about and yet he still feels guilty. He assumes it has something to do with these new feelings toward Annie (newly admitted is probably a more apt term, he's pretty sure the feelings have always been there).

But he shouldn't feel guilty. Willy had offered to break-up with Annie if it made Jeff uncomfortable. Which it does. Willy and Annie together makes Jeff really uncomfortable. At first, he tried to pass it off as just being uncomfortable at the idea of his brother and his best friend (and occasional makeout partner) dating, but he knows now and will freely admit, to himself at least, that it's more than that. A lot more than that.

His phone finally stops vibrating and he sighs in relief. He wishes he would've turned his phone off completely, but if he turns it off now then he'll have to see the messages and be coerced into attending whatever disaster is currently taking place. When his landline starts ringing, he feels a headache starting to set in. He throws an arm over his face and groans into it, trying to drown out the ringing. When the machine picks up he prays to the god he doesn't think exists that they will not leave a message, but of course they do.

"We've been trying to call you for, like, an hour, dude. Since when don't you check your phone all the time?" Troy questions confusion clear in his tone. "But we remembered that you're old and you have a landline. Anyway, we need your help. So, if you could call-" Troy breaks off abruptly and he can hear Abed in the background speaking. "Oh right, yeah it's Annie that we need your help with." Jeff can feel his entire body tense at those words. It takes him a second before he jumps up from the couch and grabs his phone in the kitchen.

"What?" He answers shortly.

"Where have you been? Abed thinks you're being depressed and alone, but I was like 'Nah man, Jeff's too cool for that' and he was all 'Jeff is feeling sorry for himself because his brother-'" Jeff cuts him off there.

"What do you want?"

"Have you heard from Annie at all tonight?" Troy questions and Jeff feels on edge just from the note of concern in Troy's voice. He walks into the living room, grabbing his cell phone and checking it quickly for traces of Annie. _Nothing. _

"No, what's wrong with Annie?" He asks, voice taking on a more demanding tone.

"I'm not really sure. Abed and I were getting ready to go away for the weekend. We need to reconnect our friendship, since I've been spending all my time with Britta and we haven't had as many adventures. Which is sorta lame and Abed had an idea for something new he wanted to film, so we went to-"

"TROY!" Jeff snaps. All he wants to know is what's going on with Annie. "Can you put Abed on?" He hears some shuffling and then Abed's voice floats over the line.

"Annie came home from her date upset, told us it was nothing, and locked herself in her room. We left soon after. I'm assuming Willy dumped her because the date lasted approximately 2 hours shorter than the last 4." Why were they going on dates that long anyway? "Willy liked to plan really elaborate activities in an effort to make Annie like him more" Abed answers his unasked question.

"Wait, so why are you calling me?" He wonders trying to connect all the dots.

"Annie was in a fragile state and I'm worried she's going to do something irrational and out of character." Jeff sighs sitting on the armrest of his couch.

"I thought she didn't even like Willy that much." Jeff murmurs feeling the guilt pulse through him.

"She didn't, but it's still a wound to her ego that he would end things with her before they really started."

"Okay…" He can understand that. Actually, he can relate to that more than he wants to admit. Sometimes he forgets that for all the ways he and Annie are outwardly opposites, they're actually a lot alike. "And what do you want me to do exactly?"

"She's not answering her phone."

"You want me to check on her?"

"Yeah. Also, you want to check on her."

"What? Pft. No, I don't." He laughs nervously wiping one palm against the thigh of his jeans.

"Jeff, there's no point in lying to me. Anyway, you'll do it?"

"Yeah," he answers pulling on his jacket and grabbing his car keys. "I don't know how many destructive things Annie could get up to in her own apartment." He pulls his front door shut and shifts the phone to his other ear in order to lock the door.

"Probably nothing." Abed responds and Jeff rolls his eyes.

"Then why am I checking on her?"

"I'm giving you a chance to tell the truth." Jeff sighs tiredly as he climbs down the steps.

"About what?"

"Willy had no reason to end things with Annie, so he must have had an outside influence. Plus, your current state of wallowing could suggest you feel guilty about something." Abed pauses and it's a heavy silence on Jeff's end as he tries to come up with a proper response. "You asked Willy to end things with Annie because you want to be with her."

"What? No. That's ridiculous."

"You're doing an awful lot of over-denying tonight, Jeff. Just tell her the truth, if you're honest with her she'll forgive you."

"Thanks, Abed." He mutters unenthusiastically as he hangs up the phone.

* * *

Annie takes another swig of the bottle of wine she found in the no-no juice cabinet. She knows she probably has had enough based on the way the world is a little tilty and her brain feels hazy, but she takes another sip anyway.

She feels like an idiot. She thought Willy really liked her. He always planned them really nice dates and he was the one who had asked her out. And tonight he just ends things with no warning. Of course he used classic lines, 'it's not you, it's me', 'I'm just not in a good place right now'. She groans putting her head in her hands. What is wrong with her?

She's shaken out of her thoughts by a loud series of knocks on her front door.

"Open the door, Annie!" She hears Jeff demand. "This isn't funny. Troy and Abed are worried that you're not answering your phone, so could you just let me in?" She manages to lift herself to her feet and shuffle to the door with the bottle of wine still cradled in her arm. She pulls the door open and stumbles under the weight of it. Jeff reaches out and grabs her arm to stop her from falling. His eyes narrow at the bottle in her hand.

"Have you been drinking?" She shrugs.

"Jus' a little." She murmurs bringing the bottle up to her lips again. He grabs the bottle from her and she whines reaching for it again.

"No, I'm not letting you get drunk." He says holding it out of her reach. "What is wrong with you?" She walks heavily and collapses sideways on the couch in despair. Jeff nudges her slightly, so he can sit down next to her. "Annie," he says gently and she wants to cry at the tone in his voice. Why the hell can't she get over Jeff? Any little sign of concern from him and all her feelings come rushing back. She groans incoherently into the pillow her face is smushed against. "Annie." He repeats a tad more forceful. She turns herself over and flops onto her back staring up at the ceiling.

"What's wrong with me?"

"Huh?"

"Why am I so undesirable? Even the guy's who decide they want to be with me, run away eventually." She moans miserably and she hates herself for how pathetic she sounds, but at this point she's too far gone to care.

"Willy broke up with you." She nods and bites her lip. She cannot cry right now. She absolutely will not break down in front of Jeff, drunk or not.

"Did he say anything to you the other night? I just-" Annie shakes her head and pushes the pillow into her face again. "I don't get it." Jeff is silent for a really long time and Annie peeks her head out to see him staring at the wall intently.

"He didn't." Jeff finally tells her and she sighs.

"Maybe I'm repulsive." She slurs. "He saw me and knew he had to get out." Jeff shifts next to her and pulls the pillow away from her face.

"You're not repulsive, Annie." He laughs slightly and shakes his head reaching out to flatten errant strands of your hair. "You're beautiful and any guy who doesn't see it is an idiot."

"You don't." She says suddenly and as soon as the words are out, she wants to physically push them back in. But she's tired and upset and drunk and what she's thinking accidentally slips out.

"Annie…."

"S'fine. You don' have to say anything." They're both silent after that and Annie closes her eyes turning her face into the side of the couch.

"I don't want to have this conversation when you're drunk." Jeff finally responds and Annie peeks at him out of one eye.

"You don't want to have this conversation at all." She points out yawning.

"You're right, I don't." He confesses. "But I think we need to."

"Jeff Winger needs to talk about something." She mumbles. "I better remember this in the morning." He laughs softly and shakes his head. "So, you really don't know why Willy ended things?" Even in her wine haze, Jeff's pause earlier makes her feel like he knows something he's not telling her.

"I-" He shakes his head. "No, I don't but I can talk to him. If you want and see if he says anything?"

"Thanks, Jeff."

"Annie-" He takes a deep breath. "Don't be too down on yourself over this, okay? No guy is ever going to be worth it. Especially not ones that hurt you."

"So, all I have to do is get drunk and you'll spill all your feelings to me?" Her lips turn up in a smirk and Jeff smiles down at her.

"Maybe I just don't like to see you upset." She nods thinking over his words.

"I'm not upset." He raises his eyebrows in disbelief. "I'm confused, mostly." At Jeff's still incredulous look, she sinks deeper into the couch. "And maybe a little sad." Annie concedes and he nods.

"Get some sleep. You'll probably feel better in the morning." She grumbles in agreement and forces herself to sit up. Her eyes flit over the wine bottle and she looks back at Jeff.

"Can I have my wine back?" He shakes his head and she groans.

"You'll thank me in the morning, Annie. Now, go get ready for bed. I'm going to get you a glass of water and you'll drink the whole thing. Then I'll leave."

"Bossy." She mutters under her breath as he helps her off the couch.

"Yeah, yeah." Jeff responds gently pushing her to her room.


End file.
